"Even with Luke integrated into the story, the film feels like a significant letdown, one that does far less than its predecessor to stoke enthusiasm for the next leg in the trilogy. ... Running more than 2½ hours, the eighth 'Star Wars' movie built around the Skywalker clan is the longest under that banner and showcases an abundance of action. But despite the enormous scope and visual spectacle, too many key components of the film — including those that have kept die-hard fans guessing and debating — prove unsatisfying. ... To be fair, writer-director Rian Johnson delivers some genuine surprises, and has dotted the movie with its share of pleasurable moments, from disarming humor to the first space battle to callbacks to earlier films -- practically flashing a sign to ensure opening-night audiences will have opportunities to whoop and holler."
"Writer-director Rian Johnson goes for broke in the latest installment of the 'Star Wars' franchise, and he delivers an epic space opera ... that is as indebted to the previous installments and 'Star Wars' canon as it is to classic Westerns, sword-and-sandal epics and martial arts films. ... 'The Last Jedi' is a sweeping and grandiose film, and it's also far funnier than any other 'Star Wars' film has attempted to be. Johnson pitches the tone just right, with actual jokes and visual gags peppered amongst the stunning action set pieces, as well as earnest and emotionally moving moments of heroism and self-sacrifice."
"There are a handful of truly spectacular moments in 'The Last Jedi' — some as visually sumptuous and others as emotionally poignant and raw as anything in the intergalactic ring cycle so far. ... That said, I'd stop short of calling director Rian Johnson's undeniably impressive initiation into the Star Wars fold the masterpiece that some desperately want it to be. The film simply drags too much in the middle. Somewhere in the film's 152-minute running time is an amazing 90-minute movie."
"Writer-director Rian Johnson's otherwise rebellious new film ... is the springiest, most assured Star Wars entry in years — and a movie that drops a proton torpedo into our beloved galaxy far, far away. ... In 'Last Jedi,' old allegiances are frayed, family bonds are lightsaber'd in half, and even an ex-farmboy like Luke Skywalker must contend with a deep, depressive existential crisis. It's the gazillion-dollared, 152-minute equivalent setting fire to all of your childhood Star Wars toys in the backyard, and getting high off the fumes that follow."
"The latest 'Star Wars' installment is here, and, lo, it is a satisfying, at times transporting entertainment. Remarkably, it has visual wit and a human touch, no small achievement for a seemingly indestructible machine that revved up 40 years ago and shows no signs of sputtering out (ever). ... (Rian) Johnson has picked up the baton. ... He has to convince you that these searching, burgeoning heroes and villains fit together emotionally, not simply on a Lucasfilm whiteboard, and that they have the requisite lightness and heaviness, the ineffable spirit and grandeur to reinvigorate a pop-cultural juggernaut. That he's made a good movie in doing so isn't icing; it's the whole cake."
"'Star Wars' fans, your sky high expectations are rewarded. If possible, stoke your enthusiasm even further. 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' is a torrent of plot development. What you've pontificated, argued, and theorized about, is going to be shattered utterly. Rian Johnson takes the fabled lore from a galaxy far away into uncharted territory. He will have you spellbound. ... The film is so packed with narrative, it doesn't flow quite as effortlessly as 'Empire Strikes Back' or 'Rogue One'; but where it takes you is remarkable. ... 'The Last Jedi' has deeply philosophical moments. It takes the battle between light and darkness to a whole new place. The film is truly one surprise after the other."
"Two minutes into the space opera, and we've paused for a comedy routine. 'The Last Jedi' is the first Star Wars movie to be influenced by 'Spaceballs.' ... Johnson brings to 'The Last Jedi' a cinephile's erudition as well as a geek's devotion, and he's made a film that connects to Star Wars at the root — not just the first movie, but the ones that inspired it. ... Like many before it, 'The Last Jedi' has already been hailed as the best Star Wars movie since 'The Empire Strikes Back,' and while that's true, it's too faint a compliment. It's a film of genuine beauty, one where you come away as eager to talk about the set design and the choreography as you do the fate of the galaxy or what might happen next."
"Writer/director Rian Johnson has brought his considerable skill and obvious deep affection for the Star Wars universe to this latest chapter. ... He has produced a film that longtime fans will find very satisfying, with a stunning black, white, and red color palette, thrilling adventure, appealing new characters and worthy developments for old friends, including characters from the first movie (fourth chapter), and a cause to root for. ... The settings are captivating. ... Refreshingly, female and non-white characters play dominant roles on both sides. And, there is a possibility of another New Hope. The rebel forces — and the Star Wars stories — are in good hands."
"It's everything a fan could want from a 'Star Wars' film and then some. Even the sorts of viewers who spend the entire running time of movies anticipating every plot twist and crowing 'called it!' when they get one right are likely to come up short here. But the surprises usually don't violate the (admittedly loose) internal logic of the universe George Lucas invented, and when they seem to, it's because the movie has expanded the mythology in a small but significant way, or imported a sliver of something from another variant of Lucas' creation."
"A welcome disturbance in the Force, Rian Johnson's 'The Last Jedi' is, by wide measure, the trippiest, scrappiest and most rule-breaking Star Wars adventure yet. ... Though there are countless familiar broad strokes — rebel escapes, Jedi soul-searching, daddy issues — 'The Last Jedi' has discovered some new moves yet, in the galaxy far, far away. ... As if with a wind against its back, (the movie) gathers momentum. By breaking down some of the old mythology, Johnson has staked out new territory. For the first time in a long time, a 'Star Wars' film feels forward-moving."
So? Whadja think?
Well, seeing as we didn't see it, like the rest of you folks, we have to rely on the critics who got the lucky early screenings. And here's their thoughts on the matter.